CHAPTER 37 - SEA MOTH SUBMARINE

Resolving to corner him later, Natalie continued swimming until a strange, white object appeared in the sand up ahead.

It was a massive chunk of debris, wreckage from the Aurora.

"Whoa... that's bigger than I thought," she muttered, swimming closer.

It was about the size of a basketball court.

"Damn, if this is just one piece, the full ship must have been enormous!"

"Natalie, go inside!"

"There's probably loot!"

"Explore the interior, maybe there's gear or blueprints!"

That was exactly her plan. She circled the wreck until she found a broken window and slipped inside.

The interior screamed high tech. Broken equipment, shattered displays, and scorched walls told the tale of a catastrophic crash. Most of the machines were wrecked beyond recognition.

Natalie scanned them all with her bracelet, hoping to salvage something useful.

"Severe damage detected. No usable data," Cortana reported.

Nothing. Until she scanned something that looked vaguely like a steering column.

Ding!

[Sea Moth wreck detected. Blueprint acquired: Sea Moth.]

"Sea Moth?" Natalie blinked. "What's that?"

"A single occupant underwater vehicle," Cortana replied. "Maximum speed: 110 kilometers per hour."

"WHAT?!"

Natalie nearly shouted in excitement.

"Did you hear that?! VEHICLES!!! No more swimming!"

"There's a VEHICLE SYSTEM in the game?! Let's gooo!"

"110 km/h under water?! That's like a sports car!"

"New World Studio always delivers something fresh!"

"Natalie, why are you still standing around?! Build it!!"

"Cortana, I want to craft the Sea Moth immediately!" she exclaimed.

Cortana responded by listing the required materials: titanium ingots, lubricants, and power cells.

Natalie frowned.

"Hmmm, I've been hoarding a ton of materials, but this is... a lot."

Before the frustration could settle, Cortana added, "Don't worry. The Aurora's wreckage contains sufficient resources. You can break it down and recycle the parts using the 3D printer."

Natalie's face lit up with relief.

"Perfect! I'm on it!"

She swam back to her escape pod and returned with her portable 3D printing platform strapped to her back.

Setting it on the sand, she activated the unit.

With a whirr, hundreds of tiny nanobots swarmed out of the printer. Like mechanical termites, they latched onto the Aurora's wreckage and began disassembling it at lightning speed. Metal was rapidly restructured into ingots and components, floating in the water like industrial glitter.

Then the real magic happened.

The bots clustered again, shooting out thin heat rays that began melting and reshaping the materials. Before their eyes, a sleek submarine began to form, molded like clay in zero gravity.

In less than a minute, a shining, compact submersible emerged.

The Sea Moth was born.

It wasn't large, only about the size of a car, and its design was futuristic, with a flat, oval body like a mini UFO.

Natalie gawked at her new ride. "Everyone, meet the first submarine of my life!"

"HOW is building a submarine so EASY?!"

"What do you mean less than a minute?!"

"There's definitely gonna be bigger submarines later. I can feel it!"

"Bro, are we gonna fight sea monsters in subs?! YES PLEASE."

"New World just knows how to push all the right buttons."

Without hesitation, Natalie swam to the Sea Moth. The hatch opened automatically, and she climbed in. The moment she sat, the hatch sealed shut, and the seawater in the cabin was drained with a soft hiss.

"Do I need a license for this thing?" she joked.

"No license required," Cortana replied. "Controls are based on standard automotive layouts, with added vertical movement for ascent and descent."

It was easier than learning to swim.

In no time, Natalie had gotten the hang of it. At first, she moved slowly and cautiously. But before long, her confidence skyrocketed. She punched the throttle, and the Sea Moth surged through the water at 110 km/h.

"YEEEESSS!!! This is better than drag racing!" she screamed, laughing with exhilaration.

The ocean blurred past. She performed a hairpin drift at top speed, whipping around with glee. The vehicle held perfectly, no spins, no crashes.

Her screen exploded.

"Holy crap, I wanna use a submarine now!"

"This is the most exciting thing ever, and it's underwater!"

"How is this game only $499?!"

"Yo, is this a survival game or a sci-fi racing sim?!"

"This is better than all the AAA games out right now!"

The comments just kept coming.

From scenic immersion to high speed ocean travel, Subnautica had them all hooked.

That night, countless players dove into the oceans of Subnautica, completely immersed in the wonders, and terrors of the deep.

---BREAK---

Meanwhile, Tony, the mind behind it all, had a restless night.

Too much excitement from the game's launch. He hadn't even properly slept.

As morning broke, he walked out to the familiar food stall by the gate.

While lining up, he overheard the two boys in front of him chatting.

"Hey, did you play Subnautica?"

"Hell yeah! I was up all night! The Aurora explosion? Damn. That was amazing!"

"It explodes?!"

"Dude, just play. It's the most beautiful, and horrifying, thing I've ever seen."

"Oh yeah? I'm logging in again the moment I get home!"

"You save that woman in Pod 2?"

"No, man! I was still learning to swim. The SOS popped up and she was dead in minutes! Brutal!"

"Same! Nobody I know saved her. Probably scripted."

"Game dev's a total troll!"

Tony chuckled quietly to himself.

He grabbed his breakfast and headed home, spotting a familiar neighbor, eyes sunken, miming swimming motions unconsciously.

Another victim of Subnautica, he thought.

Back home, he placed the food on the table and knocked on his sister's door.

"Hey, sleepy head. Get up. Breakfast."

"Mmmmm... I heard you..." Natalie's muffled voice replied.

He sat down, scrolling through Weibo on his phone.

Subnautica was trending, again.

Topics like 'Aurora Explosion', 'Alien Seascapes', 'Cortana', and 'Saving Pod #2 Woman' dominated the hot search. Under each were tens of thousands of frenzied comments.

"The Aurora explosion... hands down the best scene I've ever witnessed."

"I wasn't just watching the scenery, I became the scenery."

"Did anyone else think the reefback was an island at first?!"

"Man, Natalie was literally driving a submarine. I need that Sea Moth!"

"Why isn't this game multiplayer?! It's too lonely in the deep sea..."

"At least we have Cortana. She feels like a real friend."

"I made Cortana call me husband and she didn't object. She's so cute!"

Tony grinned.

The game was a hit. Everyone loved it, except for the loneliness.

He could fix that easily. Multiplayer support was already complete, just hidden for now.

But no. The solitude was part of the experience. The sense of isolation was what gave Subnautica its depth, its meaning.

Let them feel the weight of the ocean first.

The real nightmare hadn't even begun.

They hadn't explored the trench zones yet.

Oh, they would scream soon enough.

He smirked and took a bite of his breakfast.

"I've been too soft," he muttered. "Time to crank up the pressure."

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